It's finally finished! I've been working on this Sea Captain embroidery for a year and a half and just last weekend I stitched up the last stitches! I was super excited to finish it not only because that would mean I would finally get to enjoy the finished product, but also because it meant getting to watch the magic that is dissolving Sticky Fabri-Solvy.

I'm not sure what exactly inspired me to work on this project again. I think it was the fact that there was only about 25% left of it to complete and I knew it wouldn't take too long. I had put the project down a few months ago because I got a knot in the thread that I just could not get out. Over the years as I have become better at embroidery, I have really avoided having knots in my work as much as possible. This means that I will spend a not insignificant amount of time undoing any knots that I get. When I picked it back up I attempted to get the knot out and then just said screw it and cut the thread. It was rather freeing!

The very last part that I completed was the waves surrounding the piece. I worked on them on a very sad day, the day we somewhat unexpectedly had to put our family dog down. I had gotten the call from my mom after having been at work for only 2 hours. I came home to spend a few last hours with Peanut and I couldn't stop crying. I wasn't really sure what to do all day besides pet that sweet pup so I embroidered and kept my feet warm under the dog. I find crafting to be really soothing to the soul and also a good distraction, so I was grateful to have this project to work on during such a hard day.

When I finished it, I released it from the hoop and stuck it in a pie plate full of water to dissolve the sticky fabri-solvy. I had to change out the water a few times to get all the floating sticky bits out of the water and then I gently rolled it up in a towel and laid it flat to dry. I love the way it turned out! I'm still deciding how I'd like to display it. I'm not opposed to hanging it in a hoop, but I want a cool looking hoop and not a boring plain one. I'm also considering framing it, but I know I'll lose some of the dimensionality behind the glass.

A note on the fabri-solvy. I had used it one other time before, on a much smaller and less intricate project. I really loved using it on this project because it saved me 1. from having to draw so many tiny lines (especially in that hat), and 2. I think my finished product is much more accurate because I know that every single part was printed correctly onto the fabri-solvy. I will say that I should have started in the middle of the piece (which I should've known from my quilting knowledge!) because starting on the outer edge meant that I got a few ripples in the fabric. I think that would've happened even without the fabri-solvy, though, so I'm not going to blame that issue on that. The fabri-solvy does make it slightly more difficult to push the needle through the fabric and it does make the needle a little sticky, but neither of those were dealbreakers for me :) I'll probably pass on the fabri-solvy for less detailed projects in the future, but will definitely continue using it for the more intricate projects.

Specs:Started October 2015Finished Sunday, March 26, 2017. Pattern is Sea Captain by Cozy BlueWhite fabric from Urban Spools (I believe it's Kona cotton)DMC embroidery floss but I no longer know what number color unfortunately! I used Sticky Fabri-Solvy instead of tracing the pattern onto the fabric, which in this case would've taken hours due to the intricacy.